European Kingdoms

Italian Peninsula

Italy

Formed by a relatively narrow peninsula that emerges into the Mediterranean
from Southern Europe, Italy is characterised by a rugged central spine of
mountains, the Apennines, which are bordered either side by fertile plains
and valleys. It has a surface area of 301,230 square kilometres, including
the islands of
Sardinia and
Sicily. Archaeological
investigation shows signs of Heidelbergensis and Neanderthal occupation,
with modern humans arriving around 40,000 years ago.

During the last ice age, water levels in the Mediterranean were lower than
today, allowing land bridges to the islands of Elba and Sicily to form, and
leaving the northern half of the Adriatic as a fertile plain. The human
hunter-gatherers of the Palaeolithic prospered until the end of the ice age,
around 10,000 BC, when large game became harder to find. The Neolithic began
with the introduction of pottery and the later Gaudo culture in southern
Italy, before these both gave way to the Bronze Age.

8000 BC

Cave drawings on
Sicily are
created around this time, with the proto-Sicani being given credit for the
work by some modern experts. Early coastal settlements can also be found,
such as at Addaura (near Palermo). If the Sicani themselves are not responsible,
then it is their Neolithic forebears, people who blend in with the later Sicani
arrivals, possibly during the late Neolithic or Bronze Age periods. Alternatively,
the Sicani are the aborigines who are influenced by the arrival of later peoples,
such as the Elymi and
Siculi around the tenth century BC.

The proto-Sicani cave paintings of about 8000 BC were created
perhaps two thousand years after their first arrival on Sicily
at the end of the last Ice Age

c.5200 BC

Pottery appears on
Sicily, by which time
proto-Sicani have also migrated to Malta,
the first people to make the journey to this island in the middle of the
Mediterranean. This proto-Sicani civilisation may be one of the most
advanced in Europe at this time. It also invents rudimentary wheels, which
initially appear in the form of rounded stones that fit easily into the
semi-circular wedges carved into the bases of large rectangular megaliths,
thereby facilitating the rolling transport of these huge stones.

c.4000 BC

The native
Sicilians
begin building Europe's oldest free-standing monumental structures. The
builders of these megalithic temples, the
proto-Sicani, are culturally
similar to the society of the Stentinello culture near Syracuse. Today
the temples are known as those of Zebbug, Gantija, Mnajdra, Hagar Qim
and Tarxien.

c.3300 BC

A
hunter is killed in the Italian Alps by an arrow which strikes him in the
shoulder. Speculation suggests that he is able to flee his attacker before
blood loss and the cold cause him to collapse several hours later. Later
known by archaeologists as Oetzi the Iceman, his body is perfectly preserved
by the Alpine ice sheets until a melt-back in the twentieth century reveals
him to German tourists in 1991. He still wears his goatskin leggings and
grass cape, and his copper-headed axe lies nearby.

3000 - 2500 BC

Copper tools appear on Sicily,
suggesting external influences or a fresh wave of migrants. Within about
five hundred years, bronze tools are prevalent across Sicily and the
natives have contacts with peoples outside the island. This
proto-Sicani culture also
appears on Malta and thrives during the early Bronze Age.

Apennine Culture / Terramare Culture (Bronze Age)c.1800 - 1200 BC

The Bronze Age Apennine culture appears in Italy from the early second
millennium BC onwards, spanning most of the country as it emerged from the
preceding Neolithic period. There are earlier elements that can be linked to
it which have been labelled proto-Apennine and which can be dated to the
beginning of the third millennium BC. The Apennine can be broken down into
four phases, early, middle, late and a sub phase. Its pottery was a burnished
blackware that was incised with patterns, usually dots, spirals or combinations
of them. Its people were alpine cattle herders who for the most part frequented
the arable land along the mountainous stretch of central Italy. They had
permanent settlements, usually small, defendable sites, but also used
temporary camps when moving their herds between pastures.

The Terramare culture existed alongside the Apennine in Italy, being
confined mainly to the north, around the valley of the River Po. Its dating
is generally given as being half a century behind the Apennine, 1750-1150
BC, and the name comes from the black earth residues found in settlement
mounds. The people of the Terramare were bronze users, although a few stone
objects have also been found at their sites. They also made clay figures of
animals, and sometimes of humans too. While their origins are unknown, they
are generally perceived as being indigenous.

2000
- 1500 BC

An eruption of Mount Vesuvius can be dated to this period. It destroys
several Apennine culture settlements, although the occupants have time to
make a hurried evacuation beforehand. The settlements are buried in much the
same manner as Pompeii in AD 79, and archaeologists are able to uncover one
of them in 2001, at Croce del Papa near Nola (immediately to the east of
Naples). They find preserved
household items, animals, and even the footprints of the fleeing populace.

Modern Naples lies beneath the slumbering volcano of Vesuvius,
one of a long line of settlements there that have risked an
eruption

1600 BC

The Middle Apennine begins in peninsula Italy, but it shows signs of
influences from the Balkans, suggesting an influx of new people. There is a
large variety in pottery types, including bowls with elaborate, upstanding
handles, and vessels decorated with curvilinear and zigzag geometric
designs.

c.1200 BC

The Apennine culture begins to fade out, to be succeeded by the
Villanova culture of the early Iron
Age.

Villanova Civilis / Villanova Culturec.1100 - 700 BC

Located in central and upper Italy, this was probably the first Iron Age
culture in Italy. Its uncertain origins lay in the eastern Alps, but its
people seem to have migrated from multiple locations further east, and
there are some links to the Celtic-dominated
Hallstatt culture and the
preceding proto-Celtic Urnfield culture which encompassed large swathes
of Central Europe, most notably in terms of burial practices. It is
impossible to pin down any origins for the people of the Villanova. They
may have been indigenous to Italy, but the similarities between them and
the Hallstatt culture suggest an element of connection, while others label
them as proto-Etruscans.

The culture can be broadly divided into two phases: a proto-Villanovan culture
(Villanovan I) from 1100-900 BC and the Villanovan culture proper (Villanovan
II) from 900-700 BC, when Etruscan
cities began to be founded. The name Villanova comes from the site in northern Italy
at which the first archaeological finds relating to this advanced culture were
unearthed. The remnants of a cemetery were found near Villanova (Castenaso,
south-east of Bologna) in 1853, and were uncovered over the course of the next
two years. Most of the cremation burials were untouched, and the urns which held
the ashes of the dead were of an unusual double cone-shaped pottery. In a cemetery
of nearly two hundred burials, six were placed apart from the rest, as if they should
be accorded a special status.

The Villanova culture eventually gave way to an increasingly Greek-influenced eastern
Mediterranean cultural dominance which was taken up by the politically and militarily
dominant Etruscans. Many of the larger Villanovan settlements were built over in
Etruscan times, probably by the same populations that had built the earlier Villanovan
settlements in the first place.

c.1100 - 900 BC

Villanovan I Proto-Culture appears in the valley of the
River Po, in Etruria, and in parts of the Emilia Romagna. It replaces the
earlier Apennine culture which seems already to have faded perhaps half a
century before this new cultural resurgence.

During this period, in the eleventh and tenth centuries, Illyrian peoples migrate
into south-west Italy, probably across the shortest point between Italy and the
Balkans, in modern Albania.
The Illyrians form the tribe of the
Iapyges, which
subsequently splits into several sub-branches - the
Dauni,
Messapii, and
Peucetii.
In general, the later Iron Age tribes of the Italics are formed by
people who migrate westwards across the Adriatic, while the
pre-Indo-European
natives are either subsumed, or are pushed west to
Corsica,
Sardinia and
Sicily.

The bowl on the left is restored eighth or seventh century BC
Villanovan example, while the chalice and kantharos are Etruscan
from the seventh to sixth centuries

c.1000 - 700 BC

According to the archaeological record, the
Latins
appear to develop along different cultural lines from their
Italic cousins to the east. Instead, a Latin variant of Villanovan culture
emerges (which is often called Latial culture). Funerary urns are produced
in the form of miniature huts known as tuguria, in small numbers at
first, during the latter Phase I of the culture (1000-900 BC), but in far greater
numbers during Phase II (900-770 BC). The wattle-and-daub huts themselves
remain the principle form of dwelling for the Latins until the mid-seventh
century BC.

According to Thucydides, during the tenth century the arrival of the
more warlike Oenotri and
Opici
in northern Calabria triggers the migration of the
Elymi,
Itali,
and Siculi
into the 'toe' of Italy and onto
Sicily.
Antiochus of
Syracuse,
writing around 420 BC, confirms this.

c.900 - 700 BC

This is the Villanovan II cultural phase. It is during this period that
the early Etruscan city of
Tarchna (modern Tarquinia) is founded, at least as early as the ninth century BC. This
predates the founding of most other Etruscan cities and is the result of late Villanovan
decline and a process whereby Villanovan settlements to move towards a
nucleus close to the agricultural areas. These concentrated settlements
evolve naturally into the early cities of the Etruscan period. At Tarchna
there is a cluster of Villanovan tombs immediately predating its appearance.
The Villanova regions of northern Italy generally show a marked increase in
Greek influences in this period, but also links with the Baltics, shown by
the widespread use of amber.

c.800 BC

Etruscan civilisation begins
to flourish and eventually achieves regional dominance in a near-seamless
break by which means the Villanova culture is subsumed. An example of this
are the Villanovan villages located on the west bank of the River Fiora.
Having become stagnant in the early 600s, these slowly expand and merge to
form the Etruscan city of Velch (modern Volci) in the mid-500s BC. Elements
of the culture may survive for a further two or three hundred years in some
areas, as the major centres of Padan Etruria, around Bologna and Modena, are
only founded in the sixth century BC.

From 241 BC and the end of the First Punic War, the
Latin city of
Rome was undisputed
master of Italy. It also became undisputed master of increasingly greater
territories outside Italy, until it governed the largest empire the world
had ever seen up to that point. Rome dominated Italy for over seven hundred
years, but its fade and end led to a series of invasions and relatively
short-lived rulers which served to divide the country into a patchwork of
states.

Etruscan civilisation
begins to flourish in Italy, eventually achieving regional dominance in a
near-seamless break with the previous
Villanova culture, which
means that the Villanova is gradually subsumed. The Etruscans also dominate the
Marsi to the south, and edge out the
Umbri to the east. The Etruscans of
the eighth and seventh centuries BC are significantly influenced by eastern
Greek culture, probably providing the basis for Herodotus' claim that they are
descended from
Lydian
colonists.

Etruria is dominated by a collection of city states, twelve of which form
the Etruscan League over time to defend the region against attacks by
Greeks and
Phoenicians, sometimes known as the Dodecapolis. Etrurian dominance
covers western central Italy, along with a wide swathe towards, but not
quite reaching, the Veneti tribe (around modern
Venice), and a stretch of
territory along the western coast as far south as
Naples. The city of Alalia
dominates eastern Corsica,
completing a semi-circle of territory that forms the border with the
Phoenicians of
Carthage
and the Greeks of southern Italy and
Sicily.

Two other Etruscan Leagues also form, one of which is Campania in the south,
led by the city state of Capua (and containing what is now the city of
Naples). This league dominates the
Opici people in that region. The
other is that of the Po Valley City States in the north-east, which include
Adria (modern Atria) and Spina (in the Veneto region of modern
Italy).

This map shows the greatest extent of Etruscan influence in
Italy, during the seventh to fifth centuries BC, including the
Campania region to the south

c.600 BC

The first century BC writer, Livy (Titus Livius Patavinus),
writes of an invasion into Italy of
Celts during
the reign of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, king of
Rome.
As archaeology seems to point to a start date of around 500 BC for the
beginning of a serious wave of Celtic incursions into Italy, this event has
either been misremembered by later Romans or is an early precursor to the
main wave of incursions. Livy writes that two centuries before major Celtic
attacks take place against
Etruscans
and Romans in Italy, a first wave of invaders from Gaul fights many battles
against the Etruscans who dwell between the Apennines and the Alps.

474 BC

It seems that the Celtic
arrival in northern Italy has not been entirely welcomed. The
Etruscans,
who themselves have been migrating northwards to the River Po from central
Italy, have been clashing increasingly with the Celts for domination of
the region. A pivotal showdown takes place at the Battle of Ticinum in
this year (which must be located close to the main Celtic settlement of
Mediolanum that had been founded by the
Bituriges and
Insubres tribes
around a century before). The Etruscan force, which is little more than a
well-armed militia, is butchered by the Celts in a ferociously fought battle.
This victory confirms Celtic domination of the region for the next couple of
centuries, so that it is called Gallia Cisalpina (Gaul on 'our' side of the
Alps, 'ours' being the Latin and Italic side).

400 BC

Etruscan society
undergoes changes from about the mid-fifth century BC, along with an economic
slump. While the cities are recovering from the slump, the political changes
become more fully evident in the fourth century. The city states gradually begin replacing kings
or tyrants with republics governed by the aristocracy, possibly based on
Roman lines. The old
system is clearly no longer working and Etruscan domination of Italy is
starting to come under severe threat from Rome's increasing power and
prominence in local politics.

c.400 - 391 BC

Following the route set by
Bellovesus and the Bituriges
around 600 BC, other bodies of Celts have gradually invaded northern Italy,
probably due to over population in Gaul and the promise of fertile territory
just waiting to be captured. The first of these is the
Cenomani around 400
BC, followed by the
Libui and Saluvii. Then the
Boii and
Lingones cross the Pennine
Alps, with the Senones the last to
arrive. The Alpine Medulli tribe may also find its home there as part of
this migration.

265 - 264 BC

Etruscan dominance
of Italy is effectively ended by the razing to the ground of the city of
Velzna by
Rome, which is now the
greatest political and military power in the peninsula. Over the next two
centuries the Italic tribes are gradually granted Roman citizenship, and
thereafter are gradually absorbed into Roman Italy, losing their individual
identities.

231 - 222 BC

The two most extensive Gallic tribes of northern Italy, the
Boii and
Insubres,
send out the call for assistance against
Rome to the tribes living
around the Alps and on the Rhone. Rather than each of the tribes sending their
own warriors, it appears that individual warriors are effectively hired from
the entire Alpine region as mercenaries. Polybius calls them
Gaesatae,
describing it as a word which means 'serving for hire'. They come with
their own kings, Concolitanus and Aneroetes, who have probably been elected
from their number in the
Celtic fashion.

While most of the Gauls of the third century BC fought fully
clothed, their Gaesatae mercenaries tended to fight with nothing
more than their weapons, and not even the trousers shown here

The
war begins in earnest in 225 BC, but although the Gauls are initially
successful, decimating and routing a Roman army with superior tactics, they
are undone by a fresh Roman army. Buoyed by its victory, Rome attempts to
clear the entire valley of the Padus, but over three campaigning seasons
they instead manage to pacify and subjugate the Celts. By 222 BC, the
final tribe to stand against them, the Insubres, are left with no option
but to surrender, their unnamed chief making a complete submission to
Rome. This act effectively ends the Gallic War in northern Italy, as Rome
now dominates all of the tribes there.

The office of dictator is offered to Caesar Augustus (Octavian), who wisely
declines it. He opts instead for the power of a tribune and consular
imperium without holding any office other than that of Pontifex Maximus and
Princeps Senatus - a politic arrangement which leaves him as functional
dictator without having to hold the controversial title or office itself.
The Roman empire is born
and it survives in various forms until AD 395, at which point it is formally
partitioned into
Eastern and
Western sections. An official register of all the offices, other than municipal, which exist
in the Roman empire at this time is compiled in the Notitia Dignitatum.

Medieval ItalyAD 400 - 1240

During and following the decline and fall of the
Western Roman empire,
Italy for the most part remained divided. Various powers such as the
Goths, the
Ostrogoths,
the Eastern Romans in the
form of the exarchate of Ravenna,
and then the Lombards vied for
power until the peninsula was conquered by the
Carolingian
empire. It was the wars between Ravenna and the Ostrogoths and then the Lombards
which effectively ensured Italy's division into separate states throughout
the medieval and early modern periods. The Carolingian empire subsequently
fragmented, with Francia Media
controlling Italy and power passing from that to the
Holy Roman empire in 961.

476

On 4 September, a Gothic general of the
Roman army takes Ravenna, killing Orestes and deposing
Emperor Romulus. By this time the western Roman army has ceased to exist,
starved to death by a steady decrease in recruiting grounds and a severe
lack of funds to pay those troops who still remained, so that they have
drifted off. With this coup, the Roman empire officially comes to an end in the West.

This half-siliqua was the only silver coinage issued during the
short reign of Romulus Augustus, puppet and final official
Western Roman emperor

493 - 552

On 2 February, Theodoric and Odoacer sign a treaty that divides Italy between
them, but at a banquet to celebrate the terms, Theodoric murders Odoacer with
his own hands. Now unopposed, he is able to found a Romanised
Ostrogothic
kingdom of Italy based at the imperial capital of Ravenna. His accession is
viewed by most Italians, Roman and Gothic,
as a legitimate succession. The Ostrogoths rule Italy for the next half a century,
until they are defeated at the Battle of Taginae, although the
Eastern Roman
empire begins making inroads from 536,

Byzantine Exarchate of RavennaAD 552 - 754

The imperial court of the
Western Roman empire had been moved from Milan to the more easily
defendable location of Ravenna, located in the middle of an area of swamp
and marsh, in 402 by the Emperor Honorius. As well as offering landward
protection, Ravenna had an ideal harbour which exited into the Adriatic and
allowed easy lines of communication with the
Eastern Roman capital at
Constantinople. When the West fell to Odoacer's
Gothic kingdom, the Eastern
Romans were in no fit state to immediately recover it. Instead, they
invited the Ostrogoths
to invade and rule Italy for them, and good relations were
maintained until the Ostrogothic kingdom started to fall apart from within.
By that time, the Eastern Romans were much stronger, and Italy was in their
sights as part of the restoration of a single Roman empire.

Prelude

The strong sixth century reign of Emperor Justinian I saw a successful campaign under
General Belisarius which began the long process of recapturing much of Italy for the
Eastern Roman empire. It was certainly
a long process, however, taking nearly twenty years against an
Ostrogothic enemy that was
revived and hardened by a determined King Baduila. He employed sensible tactics against
the much larger Roman forces and maintained a disciplined and ordered army. After over
a decade of leading the fight, he was finally killed in battle in 552, and with that
Ostrogothic resistance was virtually over. The exarchate at Ravenna became the centre
of Eastern Roman rule in Italy, including the marsh region which later became
Venice. But its function was
somewhat compromised by the invasion of the
Lombards into
northern Italy.

533 - 535

The Vandali
King Hilderic had been a close friend of
Eastern Roman Emperor
Justinian, so in response to Gelimer's usurpation, General Belisarius is sent to North Africa
with an army. Gelimer has already sent the bulk of his forces to
Sardinia to
recapture the island, so the invasion by Belisarius begins with an immediate
victory at the Battle of Ad Decimum. In one campaigning season the Vandali
are conquered, and Sardinia becomes a possession of the Eastern Roman empire.
North Africa also remains firmly in Roman hands as the exarchate of
Africa. It
apparently also provides the template for a general reorganisation of the empire
under Emperor Heraclius into military districts and themes. With the
empire now resurgent in the Western Mediterranean, the island of
Sicily is recaptured in 535, and
General Belisarius proceeds from his post as military tribune in North
Africa to enter Italy.

After arriving in Italy before the close of the previous
year, General Belisarius captures
Naples and enters
Rome, shortly before it
is besieged by the
Ostrogoth King
Vittigis. The city suffers starvation until the siege is lifted in 537, and
Belisarius pursues his opponents to Ravenna where they are defeated and Vittigis
is killed in 540. Belisarius is subsequently recalled to Constantinople by the
emperor, suspicious that he might attempt to claim the throne.

Ravenna had been the home of the last Roman emperors, as well as
the capital of the succeeding Goths and Ostrogoths, before
serving the same role for the Eastern Romans

541

At last blessed with a strong and determined ruler once again, the
Ostrogoths under
Baduila immediately collect together to throw off a badly organised
Eastern Roman attack
on their stronghold at Verona. Baduila is determined to win back control of
Italy in the face of the creeping Roman conquest. Belisarius is kept
in Constantinople by the emperor who is jealous of his success.

542 - 544

The
Ostrogoths win the Battle of Faventia (modern Faenza) in spring 542, but
very quickly an even greater success aids them. Shortly after the 'Plague of
Justinian' strikes Constantinople with the arrival of bubonic plague, it
quickly spreads to Italy. The
Eastern Roman empire
is devastated by it, and is critically weakened at the point at which it is
about to conquer all of Italy and bring it under the rule of one
Roman
emperor for the first time since 395. In 544, Belisarius returns to Italy to
find that things have changed considerably.

544 - 548

Belisarius

Reappointed to Italy by the emperor. Later retired.

546 - 549

With
Belisarius being starved of reinforcements by Emperor Justinian, the
Ostrogoths recapture
Rome under the
leadership of Baduila. An attempt by the much larger
Eastern Roman forces
to relieve it narrowly fails and it is sacked by the otherwise merciful and
disciplined Ostrogoths. However, they withdraw to Apulia and the see-saw
battles continue, with the Ostrogoths generally avoiding the
strongly-defended cities. Over the next three years, the Romans find
themselves on the back foot, losing rather than gaining ground in Italy.

549

Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian appoints his cousin, Germanus, to take
command of operations in Italy. He is to lead a major new expeditionary
force with orders to turn around the poor situation in the war against the
Ostrogoths.
Germanus is replaced by Liberius before the expeditionary force even gets
under way, and then it is cancelled altogether.

The plan to send a major expeditionary force to Italy is
resurrected, and Germanus is reappointed to command it. However, Germanus
falls ill on his way to Italy and dies. Narses, having served as
sub-commander alongside Belisarius, is designated as his replacement.

550

Germanus

Reappointed as commander in Italy but died on the way
there.

551 - 552

Narses / Narsete

Appointed to take command of all operations in Italy.

552 - 553

The death of Totila of the
Ostrogoths at
the Battle of Taginae allows
Rome to be retaken by
the Eastern Romans,
who then govern Italy from Ravenna. A final defeat in battle near Mount
Vesuvius in 553 means the death of the last Ostrogothic king and the end of
their rule in Italy. The exarchate of Ravenna is now the main centre of
power in Italy, although not the only one.

Exarchate

With the destruction of the
Ostrogoth
threat, the
Eastern Roman
empire now controlled large areas of Italy. The city of
Rome and the papacy remained
dominated by Constantinople until the eighth century, although a civil government
slowly emerged to take control of
Roman regional affairs in the late ninth century, often vying for power
with the pope. However, Eastern Roman authority was theoretical in some
places where Roman forces were spread thinly, and a new threat to peace
quickly materialised when the
Lombards entered
northern Italy.

The exarch in Italy was the direct military and civil representative of the
Eastern Roman emperor, and as such he wielded considerable power. He directly
controlled much of Italy's Adriatic coast, with territory comprising Ravenna
itself, plus the Pentapolis, a strip of five Adriatic coastal cities immediately
to the south, and the duchy of Perugia immediately south of that. There were
also a host of other territories which were governed by magister militum
and dux, including Calabria, Campania, Emilia and Liguria, the Urbicaria
around Rome, and
Venice. Areas in Italy which were
outside the exarch's control were
Corsica,
Sardinia, and
Sicily. In later years, the exarch
was often regarded as a foreign intruder, and he could find his best efforts being
blocked not only by the Lombards, but also by Rome and others who supposedly
answered to him. As a result the exarchate gradually faded in strength until it
became easy prey to conquest.

The
Lombards enter northern Italy,
intent on conquering it and creating their own kingdom. The first Roman city to fall
is that of Forum Iulii (now Cividale de Friuli), with small
Eastern Roman
defensive forces from Ravenna unable to offer any viable
opposition (and perhaps not even bothering to try). The first Lombard duchy
is created here, the duchy of Friuli. In the same year, Vicenza, Verona and
Brescia also fall to Alboin, followed by a great prize in the capture of
Milan. The north belongs to the Lombards.

Although unconfirmed, the mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale
that depicts Emperor Justinian and his entourage includes this
man who is usually identified as General Narses

568 - 573

Longinus

Last military governor.

569 - 571

Eastern Roman Emperor Justin II sends Longinus to stem the
Lombard advance, but
he can do little more than defend the coastal territories with the powerful
Byzantine fleet. Inland, territorial gains to the south of the exarchate are
quickly formalised in the shape of the duchies of
Benevento and Spoleto.
Rome is temporarily
isolated during this period and records destroyed, leaving little
information about the pontificate of John III.

572

After
a siege lasting three years, the city of Pavia falls to the
Lombards. They make
it the first capital of their new kingdom. Although Ravenna manages to
retain control of the region around this imperial city, and also re-secures
Rome through a narrow
corridor of territory running through Perugia, the Lombards still have free
access to central southern Italy and their conquests there. Apart from much
of the coastline, Ravenna also controls the extreme south of Italy, below
Benevento, along with
Corsica,
Sardinia,
Sicily, and a wide
strip of territory between Rome and Lombardic northern Italy.

573 - 575

Ravenna is almost certainly behind the murders of the powerful
Lombard king, Alboin,
in 573, and his successor in 575. Such plotting removes a powerful figure of
opposition, severely damages Lombard unity, and raises the possibility of
the Eastern Roman
reconquest of Italy. The Lombards largely remain divided, unable to organise
any significant further conquests, and a balance of power is established in Italy.

575 - 576

Baduarius

First exarch. Killed in battle.

576

Baduarius, son-in-law of
Eastern Roman Emperor Justin II, is defeated and killed in battle. Due
to the Roman focus on their eastern borders and crisis in the Balkans, there
are no extra resources to devote to Italy. Therefore, Roman authority is
limited to large pockets of territory, including Ravenna and
Rome.

576 - 585

Decius

580

Eastern Roman Emperor Tiberius II reorganises the surviving Roman
territories in Italy into five provinces which are given the Greek name
eparchies. This use of Greek instead of Latin is part of a gradual shift
for the Eastern Romans away from their Italian roots and towards greater
integration with their permanent homeland in Greece. The new provinces are
the Annonaria in northern Italy around Ravenna (which incorporates the duchy
of the Pentapolis, a strip of five Adriatic coastal cities immediately south
of Ravenna, and below that the duchy of Perugia, both governed directly from
Ravenna), the duchy of Calabria (although some areas are lost to
Benevento), the Campania, Emilia
and Liguria (only nominally), and the Urbicaria around the city of
Rome (Urbs). To the north,
across the River Po, the duchy of Venice
remains nominally under the service of the Eastern Romans.

584/585

The Lombards invade
the Merovingian
Frankish region of
Provence. In return, the Frankish king of
Austrasia, Childebert II,
and Guntramn, king of Burgundy,
invade Lombard Italy. They capture Trent and open negotiations with the
Eastern Roman emperor
via Ravenna, perhaps with a view of carving up Italy between them. The Lombards,
fearing Frankish domination, elect a king to end their disunity. He is successful
in throwing out the invaders and restoring the strength of the kingdom.

585 - 589

Smaragdus

Removed from office due to his violence & charges of
insanity.

588

Smaragdus is able to recover Classis, the port of Ravenna, from the
Lombards, but overall is not
able to make any great impact in pushing them back. Alliances with the Avars and
Franks come to
nothing as the Franks, at least, are not particularly interested in
conducting campaigns into Italy.

589 - 598

Romanus

Died in office.

589

Romanus is able to recover the cities of Altinum, Mantua, Modena, Parma,
Piacenza, and Reggio from the
Lombards during one
extremely successful year of campaigning.

598 - 603

Callinicus / Kallinikos / Gallicinus

Recalled and replaced.

601 - 603

King Agilulf of Lombardy
fights a successful series of campaigns against rebel dukes in northern Italy,
capturing Padua in 601, and Cremona and Mantua in 603. He is also successful in
forcing the exarch of Ravenna to pay a sizable tribute.
Eastern Roman Emperor
Phocas restores Smaragdus to the position of exarch, but even he cannot hold onto
Cremona and Mantua. However, the peace he establishes by releasing Lombard prisoners
lasts for the remainder of his term of office.

603 - 611

Smaragdus

Restored. Died
shortly after being removed from office.

611 - 615

John
I Lemigius

Murdered along with several other officials.

616 - 619

Eleutherius

A eunuch.
Declared himself emperor in 619. Killed 620.

616 - 617

Eleutherius puts to death all those who are implicated in the death of his
predecessor, but immediately Naples
is withdrawn from his control by one John of Conza. Eleutherius marches on
the city, retakes it and kills the rebel. To make the situation worse the
Lombards threaten to
attack, so they have to be bought off with promises of an annual tribute.

619 - 620

Following growing discontent with the exarchate's
Eastern Roman masters,
Eleutherius notes the emperor's focus is on fighting the
Sassanids and takes the opportunity to declare himself emperor. In 620
he marches on Rome,
intent on making it his capital, but he is murdered by his own troops.

In response to the rebellion of John of Conza, the exarchate creates the duchy
of Naples, the sixth such division of
Eastern Roman
territories in Italy. A dux or duke is brought into Italy to command
Naples, and he reports directly to the strategos of
Sicily. The new
duchy is similar in size and territory to the modern province of Naples.

643

One
of the most active of
Lombard kings since Alboin, Rotharis conquers the surviving
Eastern Roman
territories of Linguria (Liguria) and Inner Veneto, dealing another blow to the
fading authority of the exarch at Ravenna. Several thousand Roman soldiers
are killed in battle and, according to some sources, Exarch Isaac is either
also killed or dies of a stroke following the battle. Either way, while this
seems to link him to 643, other sources end his term of office in 637. It is
possible that two different battles and defeats have been merged into one.

648 - 649

Theodore I Calliopas

Succeeded Isaac or Plato (sources differ).

649 - 652

Olympus / Olympius

Declared himself emperor in 652. Died of illness.

652

Frustrated by his attempts to remove Pope
Martin from office under the orders of
Eastern Roman Emperor
Constans II, Olympus switches his allegiance. Now supporting the pope, he
declares himself emperor. In the same year he marches into
Sicily, although who he is about
to fight, the Roman strategos or the Arabs, is not clear. Instead he
is struck down by disease and dies.

This light solidus was minted during the reign of Constans II,
with his face on the obverse

652 - 666

Theodore I Calliopas

Restored. Died.

653

The newly restored Theodore is ordered by the
Eastern Roman
emperor to arrest Pope Martin
I, as his election had not been referred to the emperor for approval. Theodore enters
Rome and his soldiers drag the pope from the Lateran. Martin is packed onto a ship and
sent into exile in Crimea, but it takes
a year before the Romans to elect a new pope.

661

Eastern Roman
Emperor Constans II is highly interested in affairs in southern Italy, which
causes him to move his capital to Syracuse on
Sicily. He appoints a native of
Naples, one Basil, as
the new dux, the military commander of the city. This is not the
first dux to be appointed, but it seems to be the first about whom
anything concrete is known, the previous incumbents being foreigners who had
been forced to answer directly to the strategos of Sicily. Now Naples
is its own master.

Following the short-lived declaration of independence by the archbishop of
Ravenna (about 670-678), the independence of the see of Ravenna is suppressed.
Rome's rights over the
see are confirmed by Eastern Roman
Emperor Constantine IV.

687 - 702

John
II Platinus / Platyn

687

The
rivalry between the two candidates for the papacy - Paschal and Theodorus -
erupts into open conflict before a third candidate, Sergius, is elected
Pope. Paschal offers
John II Platinus gold in exchange for military support. The exarch arrives
in Rome to collect his gold, and collects it by looting St Peter's (Old)
Basilica, before departing back to Ravenna. Paschal is arrested and confined
to a monastery on charges of witchcraft.

697

The
Eastern Roman
tribunes are substituted in Venice
with an elective, life-long office. It is another loss of power in Italy for
Constantinople. The process of once imperial positions passing into the
hands of a local or settled elite is ongoing throughout Italy. Militia units
are gradually formed to protect local imperial interests, but eventually
drift into local control, taking more authority and power away from
Constantinople. All of this leads to the creation of vested interests that
are different from those of the exarchate, thereby weakening it.

702 - 710

Theophylactus

709

The
exarchate is further weakened, this time by the
Byzantine
emperor himself. Justinian II sends an expedition against Ravenna, commanded
by the patrician Theodore. The reason is not clear, but it may be related to
a rebellion which involved some of the the city's inhabitants and which
dethroned Justinian in 695. Theodore invites all of Ravenna's leading
citizens to attend a banquet, where they are captured as they arrive and
thrown onto a ship to be taken back to Constantinople. The city itself is
subsequently sacked. Exarch Theophylactus is apparently not involved either
in prosecuting or defending against the action, but he is replaced in the
following year.

710 - 711

John
III Rizocopo

Involved in tidying up the repercussions of 709, brutally.

711 - 713

Entichius

Also involved in putting down revolts following the 709
events.

713 - 726

Scholasticus

724

In documents that are disputed in terms of their authenticity,
Lombard King Liutprand
cedes various properties in Lugano
to the Church of Saint Carpophorus in Como. The town remains under the rule of
the Rusca family in Como, which lies approximately midway between Lugano and
Milan, at the very foot of Lake Como (in modern
Italy, just inside the border with
Switzerland).

726

The Lombards
take control of the exarchate. As a result,
Byzantine imperial
authority is temporarily unrecognised in Italy, marking a break in
Constantinople's control over the
Papacy.

The
Byzantines recover
the exarchate, although control over
Venice is weaker now that the
city has its own elected doge in place of a Roman tribune (there is a school
of thought which suggests that the doge and Exarch Paul are one and the same
person, although the dates of office do not match up). The remaining
territory within the exarch consists of Ferrara,
Istria, the Pentapolis,
Perugia, and Ravenna's immediate surroundings.

During the two centuries of Byzantine dominance in eastern
Italy, the Eastern Romans left behind a good deal of their
Greek-based culture, including these mosaics at Ravenna

The exarchate is recaptured by the
Lombards, permanently ending
Byzantine influence in much of Italy. In the south, the catepanate of
Italy at Bari is reorganised as the chief Byzantine authority in its
remaining territories. In 754,
Rome is delivered from
Lombard attack by
Pepin III, king of the
Franks. This
fulfils his role as the ordained protector of the church following Pope
Stephen's visit to Paris, during which he re-consecrated the Frankish king.
The ex-Byzantine
exarchate of Ravenna is transferred to the pope in the form of the Papal
States.

755 - 756

The exarchate is briefly re-captured by the resurgent
Lombards in 755, but the
following year the Carolingian
Franks recapture the territory. The ex-Byzantine
exarchate is handed back to Rome
as the Papal States and northern Italy
becomes part of the Carolingian empire. The Papal States are autonomously
controlled by the archbishops of Ravenna until 1218. The Lombards remain in
power in northern Italy (despite being subjects of the Carolingians) while the
Papal States control upper central Italy. Two independent Lombard states,
Benevento
and Spoleto, control much of
the southern central region, while the far south remains in Byzantine hands.

Daufer, king of the
Lombards, invades the papal territories, and
Pope Adrian is forced to call upon the
Frankish King Charlemagne
for support and aid. Charlemagne enters Italy and breaks the Lombards,
taking the title of 'king of the Lombards' for himself. Rome gains part
of the Lombard duchy of Benevento
out of the conquest while the rest signals its independence as a continuation
of the Lombard kingdom.

781

Pepin, son of Charlemagne, is given command of the
Italian portion of the Frankish empire, which includes the former Lombard territories.
He also gains the iron crown of the rex Langobardum (king of the Lombards),
and it remains in use by the Frankish kings of
Italy.

The year 781 saw the final conclusion of the efforts of
Frankish Emperor
Charlemagne to fully conquer and subdue the
Lombards in Italy. In that
same year his second son, Pepin, was given command of the Frankish possessions in Italy,
which largely consisted of the former territory of the Lombard kingdom in northern
Italy. The Franks also dominated the
Papacy, having saved it
from the Lombards, and as the upholders of Western Christendom, they were
looked to as the source of patronage and security.

The Middle Franks (Francia Media in Latin) gained their name due to their
geographical position between the
Western and
Eastern Franks. Under Lothar
I, Francia Media included all of central and northern Italy (the territory
of the former exarchate of
Ravenna and the Lombard kingdom),
and the Rhine corridor up to the modern
Netherlands, which also included
Switzerland. The imperial city
of Aachen, Charlemagne's former residence, was included in this territory.
However, this greatness was ephemeral. Lothar's death signalled its division
under the Frankish practice of partible inheritance. His territory, which
had never really bonded into a single entity thanks to its very different
cultural backgrounds, was divided relatively equally between his three
sons. Louis II received Italy and also retained his father's position as
de facto head of the
Frankish Empire.

Claimed both by the Carolingian
Franks
and Byzantium, the
principality of
Benevento is now attacked by the latter. Byzantine troops under the
command of Adelchis, son of the last king of
Lombardy, land on the
coast of Italy around 790, but are almost immediately faced by a coalition of troops
from Benevento, Spoleto and the
Franks. The attack is successfully repelled, and the Franks think that they
have retained nominal control over the region. However, Duke Grimoaldo of
Benevento also resists
them successfully, probably in the following year, and maintains the independence
of his principality.

Charlemagne unified all the Frankish states under one ruler and
created an empire that stretched deep into modern Germany,
something that the Romans had never managed

791 - 796

Pepin marches a
Lombard army into the
Drava valley to ravage Pannonia, with Duke Eric of Friuli assisting him.
This strike is a diversionary tactic so that Charlemagne is able to take his
own Frankish forces
along the Danube into Avar territory. In 792 Charlemagne breaks off to
handle a revolt by the
Saxons,
but Pepin and Eric continue to attack the Avars, taking their capital twice.
The Avars are forced to submit in 796.

810

A military expedition guided by Pepin to conquer the
Venetian lagoons is stopped by the Venetian people themselves.
Pepin's siege of Venice lasts for six months, but his forces are ravaged by
disease borne by insects from the surrounding swamps and are in no fit state
to fight off the Venetians. Pepin dies a few months later. The iron crown of
the Lombards passes to his son Bernard, but upon the death of Charlemagne in
814, the empire goes to Pepin's younger brother, Louis the Pious.

810 - 818

Bernard

Illegitimate son. King of Italy.

814 - 818

Louis the Pious, the surviving son of Charlemagne, becomes
Frankish emperor in
814, holding authority over Italy as well as his many other domains. Bernard
remains on the throne, but as a vassal-to-be of Lothar, Louis' son. In 818,
Bernard is implicated in a move to regain his full independence. He is captured
by Louis and blinded, but dies in agony two days later. Louis replaces him on
the Italian throne with Lothar.

Louis
I wills the
Frankish empire to his sons, but tries to ensure that the eldest gains the
biggest share in order to avoid the fragmentation of territory that so weakened
the Merovingians.
Lothar receives Middle Francia (the Rhine corridor including the kingdom of
Burgundy,
and Italy, which includes the duchy of
Spoleto); Charles the Bald receives
Western Francia
(France and the duchy of
Burgundy); and Louis the German receives
Eastern Francia
(Germany).
However, Lothar initially claims overlordship over all three regions and
Louis and Charles have to go to war to convince him to relent. The Treaty of
Verdun, signed in 843, recognises the division of the empire.

Louis intervenes directly in the ten year war between the new prince of
Benevento,
Radelchis I, and the brother of the former prince, Siconulf. He formalises
the division of Benevento between the principality itself and the city of
Salerno, in Campania in south-western Italy. This city will form the capital
of a new principality which also gains the cities of Capua, Cassano Irpino,
Cimitile (Nola), Conza, Paestum, Sarno, Sora, Taranto, and Teano.

In the same year, a fresh
Aghlabid incursion threatens
Rome and other Italian coastal cities, so
the pope organises the creation of a defensive league. The league, under the
command of Caesar, son of Sergius I of
Naples, sails out to meet the Saracen
fleet at the Battle of Ostia. A storm divides the participants halfway
through the fight and the Italians return safely to port while the Saracens
are scattered. Their remnants are easily picked off or captured afterwards
and the successful defence of Italy is celebrated.

Having captured Carthage (and what became the ruins of the Zowan
Gate near Carthage), Islam began to push northwards to attack
Italy and Spain

855

Upon
Lothar's death at Prüm Abbey in Lotharingia,
Middle Francia is divided between his three sons. Louis II receives Italy and the imperial
crown; Charles receives southern Burgundy, which includes Lyon, Provence,
and Vienne, and which comes to be known as the kingdom of Provence; and Lothar II the remainder - the Rhine corridor from
Burgundy up
to the North Sea. This area has no traditional name of its own, so it is named after
its ruler - Lotharingia (which later becomes Lorraine).

Louis'
title of emperor has little meaning since he rules only in Italy, and even
there his reign is constantly challenged by independent
Lombard
dukes and by the Arab
Aghlabid invaders of southern Italy. He supports his brother Lothar II,
king of Lotharingia,
in a dispute with the Pope,
and briefly (864) occupies Rome.
He subsequently submits to the pope. He also unsuccessfully tries to claim
Lotharingia after Lothar's death.

860

Duke Adelchis
of Benevento
is forced to play the traditional game of fending off the hostile intentions
of both south and north, this time in the form of
Aghlabid
Islamic invaders in the south and the Middle Franks
of Italy in the north. In 860 he is defeated by the Muslims at Bari and is
forced to agree a truce. Subsequently, this forces him to call on the aid
of Emperor Louis II. The emperor attempts to gain greater influence in
Benevento, but Adelchis is able to fend him off as well as defeating a fresh
Muslim invasion.

875

Charles the Bald of the
Western Franks is crowned
emperor of the Romans by
Pope John VIII and thereafter
nominally rules Italy, and the
Frankish Empire as Charles
II. Boso is his viceroy in Italy and Provence (and later becomes independent
king of the latter).

This denier was issued during the reign of Louis II in Italy,
and minted at Benevento

Carloman suffers a
debilitating stroke just two years after gaining Italy. Unable to rule in anything but
name and having no legitimate offspring, he divides his holdings between his
brothers. Louis the Younger gains
Bavaria
while Charles the Fat gains Italy. Carloman's illegitimate son, Arnulf,
becomes duke of
Carinthia.

Charles
the Fat succeeds as titular head of the Frankish Empire,
holding the position as Emperor Charles III. He is crowned by
Pope John VIII. In the
following year, 882, Louis the Younger dies and Charles, as the last
remaining of the three brothers, inherits his territories of
Bavaria,
Franconia,
Saxony,
and
Thuringia, thereby reuniting
East Francia following its division in 876.

883 - 884

The
Byzantine empire
is enjoying a resurgence of fortune in southern Italy. Under Nicephorus
Phocas the Elder, the Byzantine forces slowly reconquer Calabria from 883,
with attacks being concentrated on territory around
Benevento.
Following the deposing of Duke Radelchis there, his successor, Aione,
responds by capturing Bari, although he loses it again within a year.

887

Charles the Fat is deposed
by the Germans at the Diet of Tribur (November 887) and the
Frankish Empire is officially
divided between East and West. The western section becomes
France, while the
eastern section becomes the
Germanic Roman Empire
(modern Germany).
Berengar of Friuli is acclaimed king of Italy (perhaps by himself).

Frankish Kings of ItalyAD 888 - 961

Emperor Charles III was deposed by the Germans at the Diet of Tribur
(November 887), and the
Frankish Empire was
officially divided between East and West. Italy was heavily involved in this
momentous shift in power, and it certainly did not remain unaffected.
Berengar of Friuli claimed the throne in Italy, but Guy of
Spoleto was a major rival. Guy
failed in his attempt to gain overlordship of the
Western Franks,
and now wanted the Eastern Frankish throne. They engaged in battle near Brescia
in 888 and Berengar
emerged as marginal victor, albeit with casualties large enough to force him
to sue for a peace that lasted until 889. Arnulf of Germany immediately forced Berengar to
accept vassal status under him, but it seems that Berengar held the Germanic
imperial title. This dual claim to Germany and Italy set a precedent that became
the norm, becoming entrenched over the next century. It frequently gave the
Germanic emperors domination over northern Italy which was the cause of much
later strife.

With the truce having expired, Guy of
Spoleto attacks Berengar at the
Battle of the Trebbia. This time Guy is successful and he assumes the
Italian throne, while Berengar is reduced to his own north-eastern Italian
holdings in the march territory of Friuli. Despite many attempts, Berengar
is unable to retake Italy.

The determined Berengar of Friuli not only controlled the march
territory between Italy proper and the Avars and Magyars to the
east, but also claimed the Italian throne no less than three
times during his eventful life

Arnulf of
Carinthia,
king of Germany, teams up with
Berengar and takes Milan and Pavia, while Guy is succeeded on the Italian
throne by his son, Lambert. Arnulf leaves his son, Ratold, in command of his
captured territory in Italy, forming a dual kingdom in the peninsula. Rule
of northern and central Italy is divided between
Spoleto and Germany, but Ratold
soon departs for Germany, leaving Berengar in command of his section.

Berengar agrees on the formal division of Italy with Lambert.
Berengar controls the eastern section, covering the Adda to the Po, while Bergamo
is shared. Lambert agrees to marry Berengar's daughter to seal the deal. The
peace quickly falls apart when Berengar, perhaps retaining illusions of imperial
greatness, is defeated by Lambert while advancing on Pavia. Fortunately for him,
Lambert dies just days later. Berengar immediately secures Pavia and is established
as sole ruler of Italy (although he is still vassal of Arnulf, king of
Germany and now
Germanic Roman Emperor).

896 - 900

Berengar I of Friuli

Restored as sole
ruler of Italy.

899 - 901

As part of their initial invasion of Europe, the
Magyars
invade Italy, possibly at the prompting of Arnulf, king of Germany.
Berengar refuses a request by them for an armistice but his army is
surprised and routed at the Battle of the Brenta on 24 September 899. The
nobility immediately fear that he is unable to defend Italy and they call in
Louis of Provence, yet another
Carolingian
descendant. Louis defeats Berengar in 900 and the following year he is
crowned
Germanic Roman Emperor
by
Pope Benedict IV.

Berengar defeats Louis at Verona, capturing him
in the process. Louis is blinded before being allowed to return to Provence, where he
remains on the throne as Louis the Blind. Berengar rules Italy again, almost
entirely unchallenged, with a heavily fortified Verona as his seat of power.

As the latest in a series of conflicts with the
Saracens, the forces of the new
Byzantine
strategos of Bari, one Nicolaus Picingli, assemble alongside those of
various other southern Italian princes in the Christian League. It includes
Landulf I of Benevento,
John I and Docibilis II of Gaeta, Gregory IV and John II of
Naples,
Pope John X, Guaimar II
of Salerno, and Alberic I of
Spoleto. The allied Byzantine-Lombard army fights and defeats the
Fatamids
at the Battle of Garigliano, a drawn-out combination of fights and a siege.
The Saracens find themselves in a worsening situation and eventually attempt
to flee, only to be captured and killed. It is a militarily significant
victory in the fight against
Islamic advances in Italy.

921 - 923

Segments of the Italian nobility are unhappy with
Berengar, so they invite Rudolph II of Upper
Burgundy
to take the throne. At the same time, Berengar's own grandson, Berengar of
Ivrea, is encouraged by Rudolph to rise against him. Berengar retreats to
Verona and watches helpless as Italy is ravished by invading
Magyars,
their attacks the trigger for a change of leadership in Italy in the first
place. Rudolph's forces unite with those of Berengar of Ivrea and defeat
those of Berengar of Friuli at the Battle of Fiorenzuola on 29 July 923.
Berengar is soon murdered at Verona by one of his own men. Rudolf rules
Italy and also holds the title of
Germanic Roman Emperor,
only to find a rival in Hugh of Arles.

Provence (Lower Burgundy) ceases to be a separate kingdom when Hugh of Arles, king of
Burgundy, exchanges that with Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy for the crown of
Lombardy, otherwise known as the kingdom of Italy. The exchange ends
Rudolf's claim on Italy once and for all.

945

An uprising of the Italian nobility forces Hugh into exile, and Berengar of
Ivrea now holds any true power and patronage. Hugh's successor is Lothar II,
his own son, but he exercises no authority in Italy, quickly dying at Turin.
It is possible that he is poisoned by Berengar of Ivrea who subsequently
formalises his control of Italy by claiming the throne.

Feeling that his position is threatened by the marriage of his father, Otto
of Saxony,
to Adelaide, heiress of Italy, Ludolph of
Swabia joins
forces with his brother-in-law, Conrad the Red, duke of
Lorraine, in revolt.
Ludolph is supported by the Swabians, but Conrad fails to gain the same
support from his own subjects. Otto and Henry I of
Bavaria defeat the rebellion. The following year, Ludolph is deprived of
his title.

961

Berengar is defeated by the
Saxon king of
Germany,
Otto I and imperial control is subsequently restored on
Corsica (by 965).
Italy is officially incorporated into the
Holy Roman empire.

Otto accepts the surrender of Berengar of Ivrea in
961 to become undisputed German emperor, shown in this early
thirteenth century text called the Manuscriptum Medioalense

With
the rise to power of the
Saxon Otto I,
control of Italy falls permanently to the non-Frankish
Holy Roman Emperors. The
precedent that had been established in 888 is now firm fact, and Italy does
not have a dominant leader of its own to challenge imperial control.
Instead, Italian politics remains a maze of in-fighting between a patchwork
of city states, various duchies and margraviates (such as
Benevento, Camerino, Capua,
and
Spoleto), and the
Papal States.

1158 - 1162

Supported as always by his brother-in-law, Louis the Iron of
Thuringia,
Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I claims direct imperial control of Italy at the Diet of Roncaglia
in 1158. The diet, held near Piacenza, includes representatives of cities in
northern Italy, plus general nobles and senior church officials of the
empire. It is held as a direct response to raids carried out by Frederick
Barbarossa in Italy, who is attempting to restore his rights over the
increasingly independent trading cities there. The diet finds in his favour
so the cities of northern Italy refuse to accept the decision. Frederick
imposes his will by force of arms, and in 1162 razes Milan to the ground.
The Italian response is to unite under the
Lombard League.

Lombard League of Italyc.AD 1167 - 1250

With Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I forcibly attempting to increase his influence in, and power
over, Italy, the Lombard League was formed around the year 1167. Its job was
to counter the imperial threat, and it was bolstered by the support of the
Papacy, which was just
as keen to reduce imperial interference in 'its' sphere of influence. At its height it
managed to incorporate most of the cities of northern Italy, including
Bergamo, Bologna, Brescia, Crema, Cremona, Genoa, Lodi, Mantua, Modena,
Milan, Padua, Parma, Piacenza,
Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice,
Vercelli, Verona, and Vicenza. The exact make-up of the league changed over
time, with some cities seceding and others joining.

Once the league had achieved its aims in 1176 and 1183 it was no longer
needed. But subsequent events, especially when Emperor Frederick II
attempted to reverse the defeat of 1176, meant that it was reformed several
times. In fact, both Fredericks were the league's greatest reason to exist.
Once the second of them had died, the league was dissolved, its job
successfully done. Much of it was absorbed into the territory of Milan.

1167

Almost as soon as it is founded, the Lombard League becomes the 'last man
standing' in the fight against Holy
Roman Emperor Frederick I. His defeat of
Pope Alexander III at
the Battle of Monte Porzio knocks the Papal States out of the conflict, but
the Pope continues to support the Lombard League quite heavily.

1176

The
struggle between Holy
Roman Emperor Frederick I and the Lombard League comes to a head at the
Battle of Legnano on 29 May 1176. Frederick is heavily defeated, with his
personal guard being slain and he himself being thrown from his horse,
whereupon his troops believe him to have been killed. The subsequent Peace
of Venice agrees a six-year truce which is concluded by the Peace of
Constance.

The Battle of Legnano ended the hopes of Frederick Barbarossa to
dominate Italy

1183

Milan
becomes a self-governing imperial city thanks to the Peace of Constance, in
which Frederick I is forced to renounce his rights of sovereignty over northern
Italy. The Italian cities agree to remain loyal to the
Holy Roman empire but
will pursue an independent course when it comes to their own governance. Although
Milan is a republic it is usually dominated by one person, a so-called signore.
The city quickly becomes dominated by the della Torre, who establish themselves
as lords of Milan.

Lords of MilanAD 1240 - 1395

Pagano della Torre (meaning 'of the tower' and also rendered as Torriani)
was a condottiero, essentially a military leader with the status of a
warlord, someone who often served as a mercenary commander in times of
conflict in Italy. His grandfather was one Martino 'The Giant' who fought in
the Crusades.
Martino's son was Jacopo, who married into the powerful Visconti family and
became captain of Milan while his in-laws were serving as patrician of Pisa,
dominating the giudici of Cagliari,
and intermarrying with the giudici of
Gallura.
Pagano was Jacopo's son, and he also became captain of Milan (in 1240), establishing
himself and his descendants as the main power in the city.

Milan had been founded by the CelticInsubres tribe, perhaps around 600 BC.
It was developed under Roman
control, but its convoluted political history during the medieval period
essentially reflected that of all of Italy. The governance of the peninsula was
disjointed and fractured, with frequent internecine squabbles and threats from
greater powers from outside Italy, especially from the growing might of
France,
Aragon, and
Castile.
All of northern Italy remained nominally under the vassalage of the
Holy Roman empire,
but the struggle for power between the
Papist Guelfs and their opponents,
the Imperialist
Ghibellines, was intense in this period.

1240 - 1247

Paganus / Pagano I della Torre

Son of Jacopo. Captain of Milan. Died.

1247 - 1257

Paganus / Pagano II della Torre

1253 - 1256

Manfredi Lancia

1257 - 1259

Martino della Torre

Brother or nephew of Pagano I. Died 1263.

1257 - 1259

Martino imposes his personal power over Milan as its captain. The della
Torre lordship of the city begins with him and lasts for half a century or
so. The della Torre family also hold Bergamo, Lodi, Novara, and Vercelli. In
1259, Oberto Pallavicino, a field captain for former
Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II, defeats the Lombardic-Guelphish League of towns at the Battle
of Cassano, and as a reward he is granted command of Alessandria, Como,
Lodi, Milan, Novara, and Tortona.

Medieval Italy was a cauldron of competing city states, with
unceasing competition between them that sparked the Renaissance
and a blossoming of culture and advancement

1259 - 1264

Oberto Pallavicino

1263 - 1265

Filippo della Torre

Brother of Martino.

1265 - 1277

Napoleone della Torre

Cousin, and son of Pagano I. Imprisoned, died the
following year.

1273 - 1274

With his brother Raimondo, bishop of Como, having been a prisoner of Conrad
Venosta von Matsch (a minor vassal from the alpine Valchiavenna region of
Lombardy) since 1269, Napoleone manages to free him. In the same year,
Rudolph of Habsburg is elected
Holy Roman Emperor and Napoleone switches his
own allegiance to him, away from the now too-dominant Charles of Anjou in
Naples. As a reward, in
1274 Napoleone is granted the title of imperial vicar in Lombardy.

1277

Napoleone is attacked by Ottone Visconti in a struggle for control of Milan.
Initially, Napoleone holds him off, winning the Battle of Guazzera (the
captured nephew of Ottone Visconti, Teobaldo Visconti, is captured during
the battle and is later beheaded). However, he is subsequently defeated at
the Battle of Desio, and della Torre power in Milan is broken, barring a brief
final flourish in 1302. Napoleone dies the following year. Francesco della Torre,
podestà of Alessandria, Bergamo, Brescia, Lodi and Novara, is also killed
by the visconti at Desio, a double blow for the della Torre family.

1277 - 1294

Ottone Visconti

Son of Ubaldo Visconti. Archbishop of Milan.

1284

Early in the year, Genoa attempts the conquest of Porto Torres and Sassari
on Sardinia (part of the recently fallen giudicato of
Logudoro). Part of
Genoa's large merchant fleet defeats a Pisan force while heading into the
eastern Mediterranean. Then Genoa blockades Porto Pisano, Pisa's own
harbour, and attacks Pisan vessels across the Mediterranean. The final act
is the Battle of Meloria on 5-6 August 1284, close to Livorno on Italy's
upper western coast. The Pisan fleet is decimated by Genoese galleys at the
same time as Pisa itself is attacked by Florence and Lucca, destroying any
hope of a Pisan restoration. The defeat marks the end of Pisa as a major
power, sending the city into a decline that ends with its eventual conquest
by Florence.
Corsica is ruled by the victorious Genoa.

1294 - 1302

Matteo I Visconti

Grand-nephew through Teobaldo Visconti (killed 1277).

1288/1291

Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolph I appoints Matteo as his vicar general for Lombardy, and the
captain's influence extends as far as Bologna, Emilia, Genoa, and Piedmont.
The year in which this takes place is unclear, either being 1288 or 1291.

1297 - 1302

Lugano is taken from the bishopric of
Como and becomes the property of Milan. The struggle for power in Italy between the
Papist Guelfs, which
in Rome are led by
the Orsini family, and their opponents, the
Imperialist
Ghibellines which are led by the Colonna family, is intense in this period.
It also influences the struggle for power between Como and Milan. When Guido della Torre
of the anti-Visconti Guelfs displaces Matteo Visconti as lord of Milan in
1302, Como regains Lugano and holds it for over a century.

1302 - 1311

Guido della Torre

Fled Milan and died in 1312.

1308

With the death of Nino Visconti, giudice of
Gallura, his daughter Joanna
inherits the title. Despite attempts to assert her rights to control Gallura,
she is unsuccessful, and she eventually sells her title to her relatives,
the Visconti family of
Milan (presumably in 1308). They later sell them on to
Aragon,
which is eventually able to conquer the entire island of
Sardinia.

1311

Guido attempts to rally the people of Milan against
Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VII of Luxemburg and his proposed
treaty between the opposing factions in Italy. The attempt
fails and Guido is forced to flee Milan, to be replaced by the restored
Matteo Visconti.

1311 - 1322

Matteo I Visconti

Restored. Abdicated.

1320 - 1322

In an escalation of the continuing conflict between Guelfs and
Ghibellines, Pope
John XXII ensures that Matteo is charged with necromancy for attempted
papicide. Matteo refuses to appear before the papal court and is found
guilty in his absence in 1321. The charge spreads to Galeazzo, Matteo's son,
and in 1322 the papal legate, Cardinal Bertrand du Poujet, proclaims a holy
crusade against the Visconti. With the stakes escalating further, Matteo
stands aside in favour of his son (and dies a month later).

1322 - 1327

Galeazzo I Visconti

Son. Imprisoned at Monza.

1327 - 1339

Azzone Visconti

Son. Died of gout.

1330

In a change to the established tradition, Azzone is named perpetual lord of
Milan, now that the threat of excommunication raised against his family
during the conflict with Matteo Visconti has expired.

1331 - 1335

Azzone allies himself with Theodore I, marquess of Montferrat. Their common
enemy is Robert of Anjou, king of
Naples, and Azzone is
keen to reclaim his possessions in north-western Italy. The following year,
he takes Bergamo and Pizzighettone. Further conquests in 1335 include Crema,
Cremona, Lodi, and Vercelli, along with other territories in Lombardy that
had ceded control to the
Papal States.

1339 - 1349

Luchino Visconti

Brother of Galeazzo I. Lord of Pavia (1315). Poisoned.

1339 - 1349

Luchino expands his territory during his time as lord of Milan, by hiring an
army of mercenaries and placing them under the command of his illegitimate
son, Stefano. Pisa is captured, and Parma is purchased from Obizzo III
d'Este, marquis of Ferrara.

1343 - 1345

Jani Beg, khan of the
Golden
Horde, leads a massive Crimean Tartar force against the
Crimean port city of Kaffa.
The assault turns into a siege which is lifted by a Genoese relief force.
Two years later, Jani Beg returns, but the second attack against Kaffa is
defeated by an outbreak of Black Plague. There is a possibility that Jani
Beg's army catapult their infected fellow troops into Kaffa so that the
defenders will become infected. The ploy fails to bring the city to its
knees, but infected Genoese sailors subsequently take the Black Death with
them back to Italy.

1349 - 1354

Giovanni Visconti

Brother. Archbishop of Milan (1342-1354).

1350 - 1352

Giovanni secures control of Bologna as its new lord, and he places his
nephew, Bernabò, in command there. Milan continues to increase its power in
Lombardy in general. Genoa is added to the list of Milanese possessions in
1352, with Giovanni becoming lord there, and in 1353 Novara is also
acquired.

1354 - 1385

Bernabò Visconti

Nephew, and son of Stefano.

1354 - 1378

Galeazzo II Visconti

Brother and co-ruler.

1354 - 1355

Matteo II Visconti

Brother and co-ruler.

1355

After having shared power in turns in Milan for just a year, the vicious
Matteo is murdered by his two brothers, and they divide his share of Milan's
outer territories between themselves.

Although Sforzesco Castle was only transformed into a ducal
palace by its namesake, Francesco Sforza, in 1450, its origins
date to the time of Galeazzo II Visconti

1378 - 1385

Gian Galeazzo I Visconti

Son of Galeazzo II, and co-ruler with Bernabò Visconti.

1385

Bernabò Visconti is overthrown by his nephew and son-in-law, Comte de Vertus
in Champagne, Gian Visconti (a title delivered to Gian by his first wife,
Isabelle of Valois). Bernabò
is imprisoned and dies soon afterwards, poisoned allegedly on Gian's orders.
Soon after securing his new domain, Gian expands his territory. He seizes
Padua, Verona, and Vicenza, becoming lord of each of them and giving himself
control of much of the Po Valley. Padua is lost in 1390.

Gian Galeazzo Visconti purchases a diploma for 100,000
florins from Holy Roman Emperor
Wenceslas of
Luxemburg. This
diploma confirms Gian Visconti as duke of
Milan and count of Pavia.

Duchy of MilanAD 1395 - 1535

The duchy of Milan constituted twenty-six towns in central-northern Italy when
it was created on 1 May 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of
Milan. Ultimately, the towns were
possessions of the Holy Roman
empire,
and the duchy remained a vassal of the empire. It was located to the north
and south of the River Po, and extended westwards to the Montferrat hills and
eastwards to the Venetian Lagoon. It was neighboured by the
Swiss to the north,
Venice and Mantua to the east,
Modena and Genoa to the south, and Montferrat and
Savoy to the west.

Milan had developed from the Roman
town of Mediolanum (the scene of a battle between Emperor Gallienus and the
Alemanni in AD 259). Serving for
a time as the capital of the
Western Roman empire (until 402), it was captured by the invading
Lombards in 569, and
in 661 it formed the capital of a briefly divided Lombard kingdom. It remained
a vital city despite not always being a seat of power, and its recreation at the
heart of the duchy gave it all of the towns of the former Lombard League.

Dreaming of a united Italy under his control,
Gian Visconti launches ill-advised assaults against his main obstacles,
Bologna and Florence. Although his forces are generally expected to succeed,
losses are heavy on all sides. Victory at the Battle of Casalecchio on 26
June sees the Bolognese defeated, but Gian succumbs to fever at Melegnano
Castle on 10 August and dies a month later. His combined territories break
up amid squabbling between his heirs.

A portrait of Gian Galeazzo I Visconti, first duke
of Milan during the politically troubled early Renaissance
period in Italy

1402 - 1412

Gian Maria Visconti

Son. Aged 13 upon accession. Assassinated.

1402 - 1404

Catarina Visconti

Mother and regent. Arrested and murdered.

1404

Condottiero Facino Cane, a military leader with the status of a warlord,
poisons Gian Maria's mind against his mother, Catarina Visconti. The young
duke has her arrested on suspicion of treason and imprisons her in Monza
Castle, were she is apparently poisoned in the same year.

1411 - 1416

Lugano is again under Milan's
administration, until it is regained by the bishopric
of Como for the second and last time (the first time being in 1297).

1412 - 1447

Filippo I Maria Visconti

Brother. Died without issue.

1421 - 1435

Following a period of
French domination of the
republic of Genoa, Filippo Visconti manages to dominate it for a little over a
decade. In the same year, 1421, his condottiero, Francesco Bussone, count of
Carmagnola, conquers Brescia for him.

1423 - 1427

When Giorgio Ordelaffi, lord of Forlì, dies, his son succeeds him although
he is still a child. Filippo Visconti becomes his guardian but abuses his
position of trust and attempts to conquer areas of the Romagna in 1423. The
republic of Florence refuses to allow Milan's unchecked expansion of
territory, so the Wars in Lombardy are triggered.
Venice is soon persuaded to join
in 1425, on the side of Florence. In March 1426 Francesco Bussone foments
riots in Brescia, beginning the process by which Venice conquers it after a
long campaign, expanding its Dry Land Dominion in the process. Filippo is forced to
accept a peace deal proposed by
Pope Martin V which
favours Venice and Francesco Bussone. At the first opportunity, Filippo
resumes the fighting but is quickly defeated at Maclodio on 12 October 1427.
A more concrete peace is signed at Ferrara.

1434

The
duke of Milan secures Lugano permanently, but now with the counts of
Lugano providing regional
control. The dispossessed Rusca family is compensated with the ownership of
Locarno.

1438

The bridge over the River Tresa, approximately nine kilometres to the
south-west of Lugano,
has been mentioned in records since the ninth century. The area on either
side of the bridge contains the villages of Lavena and Ponte Tresa (both
of which had originally been settled by the Ligurians and
Celts and which
bear Celtic names). More recently, this area has been fought over by Como
and Milan, part of their incessant rivalry for domination in northern
Italy. Now the Visconti duke of Milan gives the villages to Count Luigi
of Lugano.

1440

Filippo Visconti's troops, led by his condottiero, Francesco Piccinino,
fight the Battle of Anghiari on 29 June 1440 against the Italian League
which is led by the republic of Florence. The battle is part of the Wars in
Lombardy, during which the five major Italian powers cement the positions
they will hold until the Italian Wars start in 1494. The Milanese forces are
defeated, despite holding numerical superiority.

1447 - 1450

Upon the death of Filippo Visconti, the last direct male representative of
his family, the Golden Ambrosian republic is declared in Milan on
13 August 1447. Members of the University of Pavia are the driving force
behind the declaration, but they find able support from Francesco Sforza, a
condottiero and an adventurer who is married to the illegitimate daughter of
Filippo Visconti. Sforza is able to help defend the duchy from multiple
claimants to the title, including the
French duke of Orleans,
and attacks by mighty
Venice, although Crema is lost
to the Venetians. Ultimately, Francesco betrays the Ambrosian republic, seizes Milan,
and pronounces himself the new duke on 25 March 1450.

Having abandoned his long-standing support of the Angevins in their claim of
Naples, Francesco
Sforza takes advantage of a revolt in Angevin Genoa. He ensures the election
of a puppet there in the form of Spinetto
Campofregoso, and manages to retain control of Genoa and Savona until the
formation of the emergency government and the 'Eight Defenders of the
Fatherland'.

1466 - 1476

Galeazzo III Maria Sforza

Son. Assassinated.

1466 - 1468

Bianca Maria Visconti

Mother and co-ruler. Edged out of power by her ruthless
son.

1476 - 1494

Gian Galeazzo II Sforza

Son. Acceded aged 7. Died under suspicious circumstances.

1476 - 1481

Bona of Savoy

Mother and regent. Edged out of power by Ludovico Sforza.

1477

The son of the late Duke Francesco and his wife, Bianca Maria, Ottaviano
opposes the restoration of Ugo Sanseverino as count of
Lugano. Supposedly this is for two years, but the
nineteen year-old Ottaviano Maria Sforza drowns near Rivolta d'Adda in 1477 while
attempting to escape arrest. He has no issue, so his claim to the county
passes to one of his brothers.

The ill-fated Ottaviano Maria Sforza was painted in oils by
Botticelli

1481

Bona
of Savoy has until now
acted as regent for her young son. However, she has been engaged in a
protracted and bitter struggle for power with her brother-in-law,
Ludovico Maria Sforza and, despite the best attempts of everyone involved to
keep Ludovico out of power, he now seizes control of Milan's government. The
remainder of the lifetime of Duke Gian Galeazzo II (which is terminated in
suspicious circumstances) sees Ludovico in full command of Milan as his
regent.

Milan
briefly controls Genoa again but is initially rebuffed by the Genoese
emergency government. However, Milan dominates the republic until
France
intervenes.

1494 - 1499

Ludovico Maria Sforza / Louis / Ludwig

Former 'regent' and de facto ruler since 1481.

1494 - 1495

The
county of
Holland passes to the son of
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian
and Mary of Burgundy. That son is Philip, later king consort of
Castile. The
following year, an alliance is formed between
Naples, the
Pope, Milan,
Venice, and the emperor
in order to defend Italy from Charles VIII of
France. This marks the
beginning of the highly destructive Italian Wars which last until 1559.

1498 - 1499

The duke of Orleans succeeds to the French
throne as Louis XII, and immediately seeks to enforce his father's claim on
Milan. He invades in 1499, also taking control of
Lugano,
and Ludovico Sforza is soon ousted. The seizure of Lugano serves to end a period
of rebellions and uprisings that have been taking place against the dukes of
Milan. It also introduces a new dynamic in the perpetual struggles between
Como and Milan, with the Swiss
Confederation now also becoming involved.

1499 - 1500

Louis XII of France

Grandson of Valentina, daughter of
Gian Galeazzo Visconti.

1500

Ludovico Sforza

Restored. Died 1508.

1500

Ludovico manages to regain Milan by returning with an army of mercenaries,
which includes Swiss fighters.
He uses the city of Novara as his base, and Louis XII quickly lays siege to
it. With Swiss troops on both sides, those fighting for Ludovico decide to
absent themselves from the battle rather than fight their fellow countrymen.
The 'Betrayal of Novara' sees Ludovico being handed over to the
French, who promptly
transport him to a dungeon at Loches where he remains for the rest of his
life. The duchy is now France's on the basis of the claim by Louis XII.

Lugano is
occupied by the duchy of Milan for just a decade, before becoming the
property of Switzerland, this
time permanently. The Swiss also oust the French
from Milan, and Massimiliano Sforza is raised to the title of duke.

1512 - 1515

Massimiliano Sforza

Son of Ludovico.

1515

The French invade again,
this time under Francis I. Victorious at the Battle of Marignano, they capture
and imprison Massimiliano, and Francis I personally assumes the title of duke.
The French have various allies assisting them, including Duke Anthony the
Good of Lorraine.

The French are again
driven out of Milan, now by the
Austrians
under Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V who installs Massimiliano's younger brother, Francesco II Sforza.
His brief tenure is ended, again by a French occupation (although seemingly
without Anthony of
Lorraine who has returned home).

1521 - 1524

Francesco Maria II Sforza

Brother of Massimiliano.

1524 - 1525

Francis I of France

Restored.

1525

The French are defeated at
the Battle of Pavia, leaving
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V dominant in Italy. Newly re-installed Duke Francesco
Sforza joins the League of Cognac against the emperor along with Florence,
France, the Pope, and
Venice. This backfires when the
emperor takes military action against Milan.

1525 - 1535

Francesco II Sforza

Restored. Died without issue.

1529

Francesco is driven out of Milan by
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, but he retains control of other towns within the duchy, and is
restored in Milan following the peace accord of Cambrai in the same year.

1535

Giovanni Paolo Sforza

Half-brother. Laid claim to the duchy but died
mysteriously.

1535

With Francesco dead and his half-brother also conveniently
and abruptly dead following a short-lived claim for the duchy, both
France and the
Holy Roman Emperor
claim Milan for themselves. Emperor Charles V invests his son, Phillip II of
Spain, as the duke of
Milan, tying the duchy to Spain for the next century and-a-half.

Spanish Governors of the Duchy of MilanAD 1535 - 1706

Despite the frequent changes in possession, Milan remained a fief of the
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V. Although France
held a legitimate claim to the duchy through Louis XII and his Milanese
grandmother, Charles V ignored this and instead invested his son, Phillip II of
Spain as the duke of
Milan in an attempt to retain as many Habsburg holdings as possible across
Europe. It took the French until 1559 and the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis before
they would recognise Philip as the duke. However, while he held the title of
duke directly, he resided in Spain and day-to-day authority within the duchy
was handed to a governor.

1535 - 1536

Antonio de Leyva

Prince of Ascoli. Duke of Terranova. Died.

1536 - 1538

Cardinal Marino Caracciolo

Governed civil and economic affairs. Died.

1538 - 1546

Alfonso d'Avalos d'Aquino

Governed military affairs during Caracciolo's term of
office.

1545

The duchy of Parma is
created out of a portion of territory that had belonged to the duchy of Milan
- an area to the south of the River Po that is centred around the city of
Parma. The new duchy is for Pope
Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese. As the duchy's overlord,
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V soon invests his own son with the title.

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V is depicted wearing a laurel crown
on the obverse of this silver medallic 'testone' which was
struck by the duchy of Milan in homage to him

1546 - 1555

Ferrante / Ferdinando Gonzaga

Prince of Molfetta. Duke of Ariano.

1553 - 1555

The Italian War results in an invasion of
Corsica in 1553 which disrupts
Genoese rule of the island.
French
and Ottoman
forces team up in the Mediterranean to disrupt coastal areas that are loyal
to or controlled by the
Holy Roman Emperor.
The French are the driving force behind these operations in their attempt to
gain control of Italy.
They raid the coasts of Corsica, Elba,
Naples, and
Sicily.
Then a force of French and Ottomans, together with Corsican exiles, capture
the strategically important island, robbing the empire of a vital line of
communications. Their fleets leave as winter approaches, with a fairly small
garrison of 5,000 second line troops remaining behind. Genoa immediately
organises a counter-invasion with 15,000 men, and much of Corsica is retaken
in 1554, with the rest being gained in 1555.

The
Italian Wars (started 1494) conclude with the signing of the Treaty of Cateau Cambrésis between
England,
France and
Spain.
Emmanuel Philibert regains his duchy of Piedmont and
Savoy in full as
part of the war's ending and he departs his post in the Spanish Netherlands
to take up his duties. Corsica is restored to Genoa, while Spain is confirmed
in its direct control of Milan,
Naples, Presidi,
Sardinia, and
Sicily,
now free of any counter-claim by France.

Not long after being replaced as governor of the Spanish Netherlands due to
his excessive severity, Pedro Enríquez arrives in Milan to create fear
amongst the nobles of northern Italy. He oversees the building of the Forte
di Fuentes, a powerful fortress on the shore of Lake Como, to defend Milan
from the Grisons of the easternmost canton of
Switzerland.

1610 - 1612

Juan Fernández de Velasco

Duke of Frías. Third term of office.

1612 - 1616

Juan de Mendoza

Viceroy of Navarre (1620-1623).

1616 - 1618

Pedro Álvarez de Toledo

Prince of Montalbano. Duke of Fernandina.

1618 - 1625

Gómez Suárez de Figueroa

Duke of Feria.
Viceroy of Valencia (1615-18), & Catalonia (1629-30).

1625

The First Genoese-Savoyard War is part of the greater Thirty Years' War
(1618-1648). Savoyard
forces join those of
France and the
Netherlands to
besiege Genoa, the capital of the eponymous republic which lies on Milan's
southern border, while the rest of its lands suffer occupation by the invaders.
Spain
sends a major naval expedition to relieve Genoa, which it does. The Genoese
republic is restored and they and the Spanish turn the tables, invading
Piedmont and securing the overland supply route between northern Italy and the
Spanish Netherlands, known as the Spanish Road. The war ends in a stalemate with
the Treaty of Monçon.

Before taking up the post of governor of Milan in 1625, Gonzalo Fernandez de Córdoba
successfully defeated the mercenary forces of Ernst von Mansfeld
and Christian of Brunswick at the Battle of Fleurus in 1622,
part of the Thirty Years' War

Spain
is involved in the War of Succession as
Austria,
Britain, and
Portugal
dispute the Bourbon accession. Milan falls to Austria as early as 1706,
allowing Austrian domination in northern Italy. The conclusion of the war sees Spain giving up Milan,
Naples,
Sardinia,
and the Spanish Netherlands (modern
Belgium) to Austria (to become
known as the Austrian Netherlands), and
Sicily to the duchy of Savoy.
The Papal States
are forced to hand over the territories of Parma and Piacenza to
Austria, a definite blow to the papacy's prestige. Philip, duke of
Anjou, is recognised as the Bourbon King Philip V of Spain, but only
on the condition that the Bourbon crowns of Spain and
France can never be
united under a single ruler. Austria becomes the dominant power in Italy.

Austrian Governors of the Duchy of MilanAD 1706 - 1796

Austria replaced
Spain as the dominant
power in Italy as a direct result of the War of Spanish Succession. Milan
fell to Austria as early as 1706, allowing Austrian domination in northern
Italy. Austrian nobles ruled
Naples. Austrian
governors replaced Spanish governors in the duchy of Milan, and Austria
gained control of Sardinia
(briefly), before it had to be handed over to Savoy.
This made the Savoyards much more important players in Italian politics,
ultimately overseeing its unification.
With Milan being one of the most important cities in northern Italy, it
essentially became Austria's capital just as it had been one of Spain's
major centres, and its governors were amongst the most senior figures in the
peninsula, frequently being related to the Austrian
Holy Roman Emperor
himself.

King
Philip V of Spain
is unhappy with the arrangements set at the end of the War of Succession and
occupies Sardinia and
Sicily,
triggering the War of the Quadruple Alliance. The war ends in 1719,
and as part of the Treaty of The Hague of 1720, the duke of
Savoy gains Sardinia
and is promoted to the rank of king.
Austria
gains the important island of Sicily in return.

As part of the wider
War of the Polish Succession, Milan is occupied by the
Savoyard kingdom of
Sardinia. The conclusion of
the conflict sees a return of
Austrian
officials to Milan while
Naples and
Sicily are gained
by the Bourbons of
Spain. The Spanish Philip
V reunites his possessions as the kingdom of the
Two Sicilies and gives
them to a younger son under an agreement that states that the kingdom will not
be reunited with Spain. In exchange,
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI gains the duchy of Parma in addition to his existing Italian
possessions.

Again as part of a wider war, this time the War of the Austrian Succession,
Spanish troops seize
Milan under the command of Captain General Jean Thierry du Mont, count of
Gages. As an occupying authority, he is shown in red,
below.

The French attempted to invade Savoy-Piedmont as part of the War
of the Austrian Succession, resulting in the disastrous Battle
of Assietta in which the French were massacred and their
commander, Chevalier de Belle-Isle, was killed

The Savoyard kingdom of
Sardinia joins the
First Coalition against the
French
First Republic, but this is defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte. Five days after
the Battle of Lodi, 10 May 1796, Sardinia is forced to sign the Treaty of
Paris. The French are given free passage through Piedmont so that they can
invade Italy. Napoleon also creates two republican states, one on each side
of the River Po in northern Italy. These are the
Cispadane republic (to the
south) and the Transpadane republic (to the north).

Cispadane & Transpadane Republics of ItalyAD 1796 - 1797

Having already swept into north-western Italy, the armies of republican
France under
Napoleon Bonaparte quickly secured territory around the River Po and organised
two provisional states so that recruits to bolster the army could be secured.
Both states were organised along the same lines as France, in the form of
republics under the administrative control of a directory. The first Italian
military units were quickly formed, which is what the French really needed
ahead of their confrontation with
Austria
as they pushed eastwards.

The territory of the Cispadane republic on the southern side of the River Po
encompassed the former duchy of Modena and territory from the Papal States,
and consisted of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena (its capital), and Reggio Emilia. The
territory of the Transpadane republic on the northern side of the River Po
was centred around the recently conquered and occupied duchy of Milan. Both
republics were essentially temporary measures until the fluid political and
military situation resolved itself, and neither lasted for more than
thirteen months.

1797

Napoleon Bonaparte, leader of the
French
First Republic begins campaigning against
Austria
in northern Italy, starting with the Battle of Rivoli on 14-15 January. His
forces have now been bolstered by new Italian units, and north-western Italy
is now a republican extension of France itself. The Treaty of Leoben is signed
with Austria on 17 April, which leads to the loss for Austria of the Austrian
Netherlands and Lombardy, but which gains it the Venetian
territories of Dalmatia and
Istria in return.
The Transpadane republic gains the rest of conquered Venice and the Leoben
treaty is confirmed and extended by the Treaty of Campo Formio, which is
signed on 17 October 1797.

Napoleon commands at the Battle of Rivoli, 14-15
January 1797, the first French campaign in Italy
against Austria

1797

With events in northern Italy moving at lightening pace, Napoleon adds the
former duchy of Modena to the Transpadane republic, detaching it from the
neighbouring Cispadane on 19 May. Just a month later, on 29 June, Napoleon
reshuffles his northern Italian territories, eventually merging the Transpadane and the
Cispadane together to form the greater
Cisalpine republic.

Cisalpine Republic of ItalyAD 1797 - 1802

Republican France
began the conquest of
Austria's
northern Italian territories in 1797, after gaining free passage through
Piedmont. Two client republics were created out of conquered territory in
north-western Italy and they were named the
Cispadane and Transpadane republics. A
little over a year later, on 29 June, the Transpadane republic became the
Cisalpine republic, again formed on French republican lines, with a
directory handling administrative control. Its territory was initially
divided into eleven departments and, on 27 July 1797, the Cispadine
republic was merged within it, with the capital located in Milan.
The republic's territory encompassed both sides of the River Po, and
included Bologna, Ferrara, Milan, Modena, Reggio Emilia, and western
Venice.

1797

Austria acknowledges the new political situation in northern Italy with
its signing of the Treaty of Campo Formio, which is
signed on 17 October 1797. In exchange, Austria is confirmed in its
possession of the Venetian
territories of Dalmatia and
Istria.

1798

French General Joubert
occupies Savoy's capital at Turin
and forces King Charles Emanuel IV of
Sardinia to
abdicate his Savoyard duchy and retire to Sardinia. Piedmont is united to
France.

French troops occupied Turin in 1798, depriving the Savoyard
kingdom of Sardinia of the greater part of its mainland
territory

In the same year, Rome is
occupied by force and a Roman republic is proclaimed (1798-1799), using the
territory of the Papal States. The pope is required to renounce his temporal
authority, and when he refuses he is taken prisoner. He is carried off into
captivity and dies shortly after his arrival in Valence.

1799 - 1800

The Second Coalition is formed by
Austria and Russia against
France. Piedmont
is captured when the allies take Turin, and the Cisalpine republic is
dissolved when it is occupied by Austrians and Russians under General
Suvurov. A provisional authority is appointed under Count Luigi Cocastelli.

With French
forces advancing back into Italy, Cocastelli and the allied forces withdraw
on 30 May 1800. Just two weeks later, on 14 June, the Second Coalition is
effectively destroyed by an
Austrian
defeat at the Battle of Marengo. The French victory re-secures their client
republics in the
Netherlands
and Italy, although Napoleon has already restored the Cisalpine republic, on
4 June.

1801

Austria surrenders to France and signs the Treaty of Lunéville on 9
February 1801. As a result, the Cisalpine republic's territory expands
eastwards, reaching the River Adige and the border of Austrian-controlled
north-eastern Italy.

1802

In January, the consuls decide to change the republic's name when Napoleon
Bonaparte has himself elected as its president. The
Italian Republic is born.

Italian RepublicAD 1802 - 1805

The Italian Republic was a short-lived successor to the
French-controlled
Cisalpine republic. It encompassed
large areas of northern Italy, essentially Lombardy in the farther north and
the Romagna area around
Rome. It was entirely
subservient to the French First Republic under Napoleon Bonaparte, changing
its constitution to allow Napoleon to become its president at the same time
as it changed its name. The capital at Milan was retained.

The president of the Italian republic, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of
France, is crowned
king of Italy at a ceremony in Milan, thereby raising the republic to a
kingdom.

Napoleonic Kingdom of ItalyAD 1805 - 1814

The kingdom was proclaimed on 17 March 1805, and Napoleon Bonaparte was personally
crowned king of Italy at a ceremony in Milan in May 1805 using the ancient iron
crown of Lombardy. The ceremony took place just a year after he had proclaimed
himself emperor of the French.
His stepson and adopted son, Eugène de Beauharnais, was created viceroy of the
kingdom and it was he who remained in effective control during the near-decade
of the kingdom's existence. Napoleon also changed the constitution to ensure
his descendents would inherit the throne.

The creation of the kingdom consolidated the French acquisitions of territory from
Austria in
Italy, namely the duchies of Mantua, Milan, and Modena, areas of the
Papal States, the western
section of the republic of Venice,
and the province of Novara in Piedmont. On 1 May 1805, the remainder of
Venice was added, along with Dalmatia and
Istria.

The Third Coalition is formed against
France so, in a swift campaign,
Napoleon marches east and, in October, the outnumbered
Austrian
army of General Mack surrenders to him without battle at Ulm in Bavaria. The
French go on to occupy Vienna. On 2 December, Napoleon defeats large armies
of Austrians and Russians
at Austerlitz, and the coalition lies in ruins.
Bavaria
is raised to a kingdom by Napoleon. However, at sea, the Battle of Trafalgar
proves once and for all
Britain's supremacy, pounding the French and their
Spanish
allies in a crushing defeat.

1806

The Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies is conquered in southern Italy and
the Napoleonic kingdom of
Naples is
created in its place, incorporating much of
Benevento. Napoleon
also heavily defeats Prussia
and the Fourth Coalition, and liberates Prussia's holdings
in Poland, forming
them into an Imperial satellite state.

1808 - 1814

With
relations between
French
Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and the
Pope deteriorating rapidly in
1808, Rome is occupied by a division of French troops. The following year
the remaining Papal States are annexed to the French-controlled kingdom of Italy,
including ancient Spoleto.
When Pius VII subsequently excommunicates Napoleon, the French capture
Castel Sant'Angelo, and a French officer breaks into the papal residence and
kidnaps the pope himself. The pope remains a French captive for six years,
being moved around Europe to various holding points.

1810

Following a further
Austrian
defeat in 1809, at the Battle of Wagram,
Bavaria
agrees to grant the Tyrol to Italy, while
Istria, Dalmatia and
Ragusa are incorporated into the new
Illyrian
Provinces.

Eugène de Beauharnais led his Italian Corp over the River Niemen
as part of Napoleon Bonaparte's Grande Armée and his invasion of
Russia in 1812

1814

Emperor Napoleon abdicates the thrones of
France and Italy,
hoping that his infant son, Napoleon II, prince of Rome, will be allowed to
succeed him in Italy. Eugène de Beauharnais prepares to defend the kingdom
against an
Austrian
invasion, but an insurrection in Milan destroys his bid to secure the throne
for either Napoleon II or himself. The Great Electors disband the Senate and
call for Austrian protection. Carlo Verri heads a 'Provisional Regence of
Government' and Eugène surrenders on 23 April. He is exiled to
Bavaria.

Austrian
control of northern Italy is confirmed by the Congress of Vienna. The
kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia is
established under the direct control of the emperor, ending any thoughts
of regional self-governance or even independence.

Kingdom of Lombardy-VenetiaAD 1815 - 1861

With the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte from the thrones of
France and Italy
the scene was set for a renewal of
Austrian
control of northern Italy. Despite a brief threat posed by Eugène de
Beauharnais, the Austrians were able to occupy Milan on 28 April 1814, two
days after appointing Annibale Sommariva as the imperial commissioner of
Lombardy. A month later, on 25 May, Count Heinrich von Bellegarde assumed
full control of Lombardy as supreme imperial commissioner. On 30 May the
Treaty of Paris officially handed the remains of the kingdom of
Italy to Austria, minus Piedmont,
which was returned to Savoy,
Romagna, which went back to the
Papal States, Modena,
which was restored to the archduke of Austria-Este, and
Istria. The
remainder, Lombardy and Venice,
were combined into an Austrian state which fell under the direct control of
the Austrian emperor and was administered by viceroys.
Corsica was restored
to France while Sardinia continued to be held by the Savoyards.

Archduke Anton Victor is the son of former
Austrian
Emperor Leopold II and the first hereditary master of the
Teutonic
Knights. He had also served as the last archbishop-elector of Cologne
and prince-bishop of Münster before those posts had been abolished in 1803.

1818 - 1848

Archduke Rainer
Joseph

Brother. Died 1853.

1848 - 1849

In a year of European revolutions (France,
Ireland,
and Wallachia
also suffer), a popular uprising known as the 'Five Days of Milan' drives out
the Austrians
on 22 March 1848 largely, it is said, due to the resentment built up by
Archduke Rainer's tax collections. Milan becomes the seat of the Provisional
Government of Lombardy. On the following day, Venice experiences a similar
uprising, with the Provisional Government of Venice being formed. King
Charles Albert of Savoy
briefly goes to war against Austria in what is a short-lived encounter.
He is defeated. In the following year he tries again and is similarly
defeated in quick fashion, but the two attempts become known as the First
War of (Italian) Independence.

1848 - 1857

Johann Wenzel

Count Radetzky of Radetz. A fair-minded viceroy. Died
1858.

1852

Count
Camillo Benso di Cavour is installed as the new, liberal minister of the
Savoyard kingdom of
Sardinia, and the
kingdom quickly becomes a torchbearer for
Italian
unification.

Garibaldi in his distinctive red jacket hails victory during the
Italian War of Unification

The Second Italian War of Independence sees Lombardy taken from
Austrian
hands. The change in ownership is ratified in the same year by the Treaty of
Zurich, creating the beginnings of a unified kingdom of
Italy. Venice
is captured in 1866, formally terminating the Austrian kingdom of
Lombardy-Venetia.

Kingdom of Italy (House of Savoy)AD 1861 - 1946

During 1859-1861, a politically fragmented Italy was forged by nationalist Giuseppe
Garibaldi into a single kingdom. His War of Unification freed Italy from
Austrian
control. The process of reunification had effectively begun with the
Congress of Vienna in 1815, although it meant that Austrian control over
large areas of Italy had to be endured for another two generations, along
with the restored and fragmented regional authorities which included the
fiercely protective Papal
States. It took a long time before even those who supported reunification
could agree on how to achieve it. One of the most feared (and soon outlawed)
revolutionary groups was that of the Carbonari, the coal burners. They
almost succeeded in assassinating Napoleon III of the
French Second Empire
in 1858 for his allegedly turning his back on them.

With support growing, and with a secret agreement in place with France,
the war soon achieved its aims. Once reunification had been achieved, the
conservatively supportive Savoyard king of
Sardinia became king
of Italy (a title previously held by the
Holy Roman Emperors), gaining Parma,
Sicily & Naples,
and Spoleto, while at the same time
handing Savoy to France as promised. In 1866 Venice
was annexed to the new Italy, while the Papal States were also seized
by the kingdom in 1870.

Initially the capital of this newly unified state was at Savoy's old capital
of Turin (between 1861-1864), but was moved to Florence, where it remained until
the capture of Rome. In 1861, the kingdom was set up as a constitutional monarchy
with a representative parliamentary body. During the Mussolini years, that was
swept aside for a single party fascist state, between 1928-1943, and it was
this that essentially sealed the kingdom's end three years later.

Prussia fights
the Austro-Prussian War against
Austria,
essentially as a decider to see which of the two powers will be dominant in central
Europe. Prussia gains Italy as an ally in the south and several minor German states
in the north. Austria and its southern German allies are crushed in just seven weeks
(giving the conflict its alternative title of the Seven Weeks' War), and Prussia
is now unquestionably dominant. Bismark oversees the seizure of four of Austria's
northern German allies, the kingdom of Hanover, the electorate of
Hessen-Kassel,
and the duchy of
Nassau, along
with the free city of Frankfurt. Prussia also subsumes Schleswig and Holstein and
Saxe-Lauenberg,
while despite being defeated in its own theatre of the war, Italy gains
Venice thanks to Prussia's dominance,
completely terminating the Austrian kingdom of
Lombardy-Venetia.

1870 - 1871

Italy
achieves full union under the House of
Savoy. In 1871,
Rome becomes its capital for
the first time since the collapse of the Western
Roman empire (although even
then, Ravenna had been the capital for some considerable time).

The delegates of the 1871 Plenipotentiary Conference in Rome
pose for a group photo

Italy and France disagree
over their respective colonial expansionism so, seeing an opportunity to isolate
France, Bismarck welcomes Italy into a Triple Alliance with the
Prussian-dominated
German empire and
Austria.
Italian relations with Berlin now enter their best period, although Vienna
remains icily formal with its former subject.

1900

Umberto is assassinated by an
Italo-American
anarchist named Gaetano Bresci in Monza. The reason is that Bresci wanted to
avenge the people killed during the Bava-Beccaris massacre in Milan in May 1898.
Umberto is laid to rest in the Pantheon in Rome, alongside his father.

1900 - 1946

Victor Emanuel III

Son of Umberto I. Abdicated.

1911

Italy invades
OttomanLibya.
An Italian protectorate is declared in 1912, and the region is governed by
Italy in this fashion until 1934, when the colony of Libya is formed.

1915 - 1919

In
the secret Treaty of London of 26 April 1915, Italy agrees to abandon its allies,
Germany and
Austria-Hungary,
declaring war on them instead. Italy has been promised territory in compensation
for its change of allegiance, which will certainly be at Austria's expense. With
the collapse of Austria's empire at the end of the First World War, and the
agreement of a ceasefire on 3 November 1918, Italy inherits the province of
Istria. The victory
elevates Italy to a major power and gains it a permanent seat at the League
of Nations. In 1919, Italy also gains the Canal Valley region of
Carinthia
from Austria under the terms
of the Treaty of St Germain.

1922

The
fascist leader Benito Mussolini becomes dictator of Italy and has the support
(officially, at least) of the king. He also seeks to heal the breach between the
Papacy and the state, an
act that will strengthen his position, but this takes until 1929 to achieve.
Totalitarian rule is established over the country and political and intellectual
opposition is crushed.

1929

The
Pope and Mussolini
sign the Lateran Treaty, finally settling the breach between the Italian
government and the papacy that has existed since the seizure of the Papal
States in 1870. The treaty establishes the independent Vatican City State.

1936 - 1939

In
1936 Italy formally annexes
Ethiopia
after a short military campaign in which mustard gas is used. For much
of the Spanish
Civil War both
Germany and Italy
supply weapons and even aircraft to General Franco's forces.

1939 - 1941

Italy
invades and occupies Albania
in 1939. The following year it demands to be allowed to station troops in
Greece, but the Greek king
refuses. The resultant Greco-Italian War is a victory for Greece, with
southern Albania also being occupied. Nazi
Germany is forced
to intervene, invading Greece in 1941 and capturing it. In the same year, the
USA and
Cuba
enter the war against Italy and on the side of the allies.

Mussolini (fourth from the left) and his chief henchmen were
hung by their heels by the partisans, along with Mussolini's
mistress, Claretta Petacci (to the right of him)

1943 - 1945

The
Italian fleet surrenders at Valetta, Malta, on 10 September 1943, giving
Britain's
Royal Navy control of the Mediterranean. With the collapse and surrender
of the Italians, northern and central Italy is occupied by Nazi
Germans.
Mussolini is summarily executed the day after he is captured by communist
partisans on 27 April 1945, as he attempts to escape to
Switzerland.

1946

Umberto II

Son. Succeeded 9
May, abdicated 12 June.

1946

A
constitutional referendum is held in the country and Italians take the
decision to form a republic. The king is forced into exile as punishment for
his support of Mussolini.

Modern ItalyAD 1946 - Present Day

The modern country of Italy occupies the entire Italian peninsula in Southern
Europe, along with the major islands of
Sardinia and
Sicily. It is neighboured to the
north-west by France,
to the north by Switzerland and
Austria, to the
north-east by Slovenia, with
Albania the closest
country to it along the Adriatic Sea,
Tunisia
approximately 150 kilometres to the south-west of Sicily, and
Corsica just
off the western coast, across the Tyrrhenian Sea.

With the kingdom of Italy fatally undermined
by its association with fascism, the Italian monarchy was formally brought to
an end on 12 June 1946. King Umberto II ruled for just thirty-three days before
he stepped down and handed power to the the prime minister as interim head of
state. Umberto left Italy, never to return, living for another thirty-seven
years and becoming 'Europe's grandfather' at many royal weddings over the
years. After his death a succession dispute arose concerning the next most
senior claimant to the lost Italian throne, although most authorities sided
with Victor Emanuel.

The Italian republic was formed in place of the kingdom, with a referendum
being held on 2 June 1946 to decide the fact. Within Italian territory, two
independent enclaves remain, vestiges of Italy's politically fragmented
history from the time of the collapse of the
Roman empire onwards.
Vatican City is the modern remnants of the
Papal States, while San
Marino is a republic with origins as far back as AD 301.

Successive claimants to the throne are given a shaded background, while
rival claimants are shown in green text.

1946 - 1983

Umberto II

Exiled king of Italy. Died 18 March.

1947 - 1949

Italy loses sections of its eastern border to
Yugoslavia under the
terms of the Paris Peace Treaties. The following year, the first
governmental elections are held with the threat of a possible Communist
takeover serving as an incentive to ensure the preservation of democracy. In
1949, Italy joins Nato. Despite the country's now strongly-established
democratic credentials, the political stability of each successive
government is precarious, and several dozen of them come and go during the
second half of the twentieth century.

1957

Italy is a founding member of the European Economic Community, which later
evolves into the European Union.

With tourism being one of Italy's biggest industries, the slow
sinking of the islets upon which Venice sits presents a serious
problem

The hereditary king of Italy, Victor
Emanuel, returns to Italy, fifty-six years after the House of
Savoy had been
forced into exile.

2006 - Present

Prince Amedeo of Savoy

Cousin. Duke of
Aosta. Born 27 Sep 1943. Rival claimant.

2006

Prince Amedeo of Savoy is the son of Aimone of Spoleto, Mussolini's puppet
king of Croatia
(1941-1943). In an attempt to secure the title for himself, Amedeo declares
himself head of the House of Savoy and duke of Savoy on 7 July 2006,
claiming that Victor Emanuel had lost his claim when he married without
Umberto's permission in 1971. The question of why he didn't make the claim
in 1971 has not been answered.